Southern Wayne knocks off Laney on the road

WILMINGTON -- Many people might question why Southern Wayne takes on the annual challenge of playing the larger Wilmington schools for its non-conference football games.

That challenge gives the coaches and players a good measure of how far they have developed and matured as a team. If that is the case, then the Saints are in a good position this season after upsetting the Laney Buccaneers 29-26 at Buc-Town Stadium.

"We had a great effort from everybody on both sides of the ball tonight," said Saints head coach Bob Warren. "We came back and responded each time they scored, that shows a lot of composure."

The Saints drew first blood on an 11-yard pass play from senior quarterback Logan Porter to junior Marcus Oates on the left side of the end zone to break the ice in the second quarter. Laney responded with a passing score of its own and got the conversion to go up by a point at 8-7.

The Buccaneers then increased their lead to 14-7 on 70-yard run by senior running back Steve Foster, but they missed the conversion attempt. The teams traded possessions before a muffed punt gave Southern Wayne the ball deep in Laney territory at the 29-yard line.

Three plays later senior tailback Walter Best punched in an eleven yard run. The extra point yielded the half time score of 14 points each.

The second half saw Laney strike first as they intercepted a pass deep in Southern Wayne territory and scored quickly on the ensuing play. Laney took the lead back at 20-14, but missed another conversion.

The Saints took their next possession on their own 8-yard line and marched 92 yards in six plays to take back the lead at 21-20 with under a minute to play in the third quarter.

Laney responded quickly and scored on a 58-yard run to take back the lead. But again, they could not punch in the conversion. Instead of leading by a full touchdown, the difference was only five points at 26-21 at the end of the third quarter.

The final scoring drive of the night for the Saints started at their own 20. A 44-yard pass moving the ball to the Laney 36 was the last play of the third period.

The first play of the final quarter was the back breaker for Laney. A pass was broken up that would have given the Saints a third and long situation but a penalty for roughing the passer moved the ball to the Laney 21 and gave the Saints a first down on a short field.

They only needed two plays as Best scored on a nine-yard run and Montee Flow punched in a two-point conversion on a trick play. Southern Wayne took the lead at 29-26 with 11 minutes to play.

The Saints defense rose to the challenge twice. The next Laney possession ended on a three and out. The following Laney possession was the drive that gave the Southern Wayne defense its statement of the game.

The Buccaneers had driven 49 yards in three plays to the Saints nine, threatening to score and take back the lead. The next play was a pass towards the end zone but Saints' junior defensive back Ronald Cox jumped the post route and intercepted the pass to slam the door on the scoring threat.

The Saints offense took control from there and drove hard up the field. Critical plays to the time- killing drive were runs of 42 yards by sophomore Brian White on a second and 15 and a seven-yard run by Best to convert a fourth and six. The essential fourth down conversion sealed a season- opening victory for the Saints as a kneel down killed the clock and the celebration started.

Southern Wayne opens its home schedule next Friday night against Wilmington's John T. Hoggard Vikings.